Tree Bark: A Color Guide

By Hugues Vaucher

Translated and edited by James E. Eckenwalder

Definitely barking up the right tree.

Publishers Weekly

How often do we overlook bark, a frequently beautiful and always important part of the plant, focusing instead on leaves, flowers, and the shape of the trunk and branches? Hugues Vaucher, a Swiss watchmaker with a lifelong fondness for trees and an eye for detail, illustrates the rich variety of colors, patterns, and textures of bark with more than 550 photographs in Tree Bark: A Color Guide. Originally published in French and German in the early 1990s, this new Timber Press edition has been improved and expanded to include more than 440 species and varieties of trees from around the world.

Awards for this book:
Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Book,
National Arbor Day Foundation Certificate of Merit

Book preview

Media reviews

"An excellent choice for professionals and general readers interested in woody plants and of particular interest to photographers and artists; a must for academic libraries with extensive botanical, horticultural, and gardening collections; and very desirable for any library."

—K. T. Settlemyer, Choice

"There's a lot to learn here from how bark is formed, the structure and function of bark as well as the ethnobotany of these tree 'wrappings.'"

—Marty Figley, Home Town Life

"It stands alone as the definitive work on international tree barks."

—YPB Library Services

"This volume adds an important dimension to our perception as well as being a practical aid to tree identification."

—Newcastle Journal

"Can add a new dimension of enjoyment to your garden"

—Avant Gardener

"You will gain a new appreciation for tree trunks."

—Don Davis, Lynchburg News and Advance

"All professional arborists should have this book in their libraries ... It is a very fine and interesting volume and well worth having. The author has rendered a great service to all who love trees."

—John E. Bryan, Gardening Newsletter

"Visually exciting."

—Patricia A. Taylor, Trenton Times

"This book shows how interesting tree bark can be with its wide variety in color, texture and patterns when observed carefully."

—National Gardener

"Definitely barking up the right tree in Hugues Vaucher, who identifies the rich variety of colors, patterns and textures to be found in Tree Bark: A Color Guide."

—Publishers Weekly

"One-of-a-kind guide ... throughly interesting."

—Suite101.com

"A one-of-a-kind guide featuring over 440 tree species and varieties with around 500 stunning color photos."

—Connie Krochmal, Bella Online

"Of unusual interest, this beautiful book features color photos and line drawings of bark forms that, according to the author, are as individual to each tree as fingerprints are to humans."

—Marge Howard-Jones, California Garden

"Hughes Vaucher has produced one of the most fascinating books on trees. I defy anyone not to be enthralled and engrossed by the exceptional photographs. This title is unreservedly recommended and should be includeded in an arboriculturist's reference library."

—Thomas H. R. Hall, Arboricultural Journal

"A very fine and interesting volume and well worth having."

—John E. Bryan, Gardening Newsletter

"Timber Press lives up to its arborescent name in producing its second superb book on bark."

—Taxon

About the author

Hugues Vaucher

Hugues Vaucher has written several books on bark and trees and contributes regularly to the journal of the Swiss Dendrological Society. His bark photographs have been exhibited at botanical gardens in Switzerland and France, and some of his bark photographs are part of the permanent display at Le Musée Neuhaus, Bienne, Switzerland.